Towards a Consistent Interpretation of AIOps Models

Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) has been adopted in organizations in various tasks, including interpreting models to identify indicators of service failures. To avoid misleading practitioners, AIOps model interpretations should be consistent (i.e., different AIOps models on the same task agree with one another on feature importance). However, many AIOps studies violate established practices in the machine learning community when deriving interpretations, such as interpreting models with suboptimal performance, though the impact of such violations on the interpretation consistency has not been studied. In this article, we investigate the consistency of AIOps model interpretation along three dimensions: internal consistency, external consistency, and time consistency. We conduct a case study on two AIOps tasks: predicting Google cluster job failures and Backblaze hard drive failures. We find that the randomness from learners, hyperparameter tuning, and data sampling should be controlled to generate consistent interpretations. AIOps models with AUCs greater than 0.75 yield more consistent interpretation compared to low-performing models. Finally, AIOps models that are constructed with the Sliding Window or Full History approaches have the most consistent interpretation with the trends presented in the entire datasets. Our study provides valuable guidelines for practitioners to derive consistent AIOps model interpretation.

Consumers' Complaints: Causal attribution and moral emotions in service failures

Purpose: This research investigated consumers’ reactions to service failures, based on Weiner’s attribution theory, by simulating two situations: a teacher that is late to class and a delay in a course registration service.Method: Students at an educational service (n = 388) responded to four versions of scenarios, combining external and internal causes with teacher delay and enrollment problems.Findings: Factor analyzes inductively reflected the theoretical organization of the model: Negative Behavior, Positive Reactions, Internal Attributions, and Negative Emotions. Internal causes led to internal attributions, negative emotions and negative behaviors. Originality: The central role of moral emotions on the attitude towards complaining behavior is discussed, as well as the importance of implementing simple and low-cost managerial measures to improve the quality of care service.

Online service failure: how consumers from emerging countries react and complain

Purpose E-commerce has experienced huge growth in emerging countries, but analysis of service failure/recovery for online retailers has been limited in this context. Hence, this study aims to investigate customers’ reactions to service failures in e-commerce and the influence of cultural dimensions on complaint intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 553 customers from Brazil, India and China. A model was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicate that satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) increases repurchase intentions and reduces third-party complaints and negative word-of-mouth. This study also shows that the reactions of consumers to service failures in online situations are influenced by their cultural orientation (i.e. individualism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance) and contingent factors (i.e. relationship level, switching costs and the severity of the failure). Originality/value This study shows that the extent to which consumers from emerging countries complain after a service failure in online purchases will depend on their cultural orientation, previous experiences with the retailer, switching costs and the severity of the failure.

Customer complaints encountered in the online food retail during the COVID-19 intermittent curfew period

Almost everything has changed fundamentally with the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. The pandemic has adversely affected the retail industry and the global economy. After detecting COVID-19, customers’ shopping preferences have moved to popular platforms like online shopping websites. Meanwhile, due to inadequate distribution structures and decentralized supply chain networks of businesses, customers have experienced many failures in service encounters. This study employed a document review method to analyse customer complaints covering common logistic service failures in the food sector during the three months (March, April and May 2020) intermittent curfew period. In addition, using content analysis, “şikayetvar.com” complaints were classified according to the service quality gap model. Since disruptions in the food industry are critical with their stimulating effects on supply chains, this industry has been analysed in detail. In terms of practical contribution, the study introduces an insight to enhance the customer service capabilities of private shopping sites. Furthermore, the theoretical background of the study reveals the service quality dimensions prioritized by customers in the pandemic environment and their critical role in service quality gaps.

Commentary: the unintended consequences of digital service technologies

Purpose This commentary puts forth a conceptual framework, referred to as the consumer, organization, government framework of unintended digital technology service failures, that specifies consumer, organizational and governmental shortcomings that result in digital technologies failing in terms of negatively affecting consumer, communal, national and/or global welfare. Design/methodology/approach The authors conceptualize an original framework by engaging in a literature review regarding marketplace failures associated with digital service technologies. Findings The framework shows that three drivers explain why commercial digital technologies often fail. The first driver highlights misuse or criminal intent from individuals. The second involves organizations failing to prevent or to address technology failures. The third pertains to failures that stem from governmental institutions. Research limitations/implications The authors encourage researchers to build on their framework by putting forth research questions. To prevent or lessen opportunities for digital technologies to result in service failures, the authors also offer practitioners a “digital technology service failure audit.” This audit shows how digital technology creators and managers can anticipate and address consumer, organizational and governmental factors that often cause digital service technologies failures. Social implications Despite the absence of industry-specific regulations and the existence of some regulatory immunities, digital technology providers have an ethical duty, and may be obligated under applicable tort law principles, to take steps to prevent unintended harm to consumers before launching their service technologies. Originality/value This work reveals that digital technologies represent new and different threats to vulnerable consumers, who often rely on, but do not fully understand, these technologies in their everyday living. The framework helps consumers, organizations and government agencies to identify and remedy current and potential instances of harmful digital technologies.

Building leadership capabilities in maternity

BackgroundOver recent years, there has been increasing recognition that effective leadership is critical to establishing positive organisational culture and improving patient outcomes. In maternity, there is a unique interplay between different specialties and disciplines in providing high-quality services.MethodsReview of literature pertaining to leadership and maternity.ResultsGood leadership is the key determinant in ensuring that our multi-professional teams function effectively. The relational aspects of teamworking, linked to safer delivery of services, have been explored in great detail in maternity services. However, there has been less focus on the application of leadership theory in this environment and the impact of interventions used in developing leadership skills within maternity teams.ConclusionsIn this paper, we discuss how leadership theory can be used to understand high profile maternity service failures and how effective team culture, clinical team building and individual leadership skill-development are strong contributors to this thinking. Specific examples are used to describe ongoing work in our drive for improvement and to highlight the current lack of evidence in this area.

Would compensation be necessary? The importance of service recovery strategy in e-retail delivery problems

PurposeThis study examines the different effects of service recovery strategies on customers' future intentions when online shoppers were experiencing delivery failures. Two types of problem severity are evaluated: wrong-product delivery (issues with the product quality or quantity) and late delivery. This study also investigates the impact of service criticality on the relationship between service recovery strategies and customers' future intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs experimental research with 123 online shoppers as participants. Following the results, a subsequent test is conducted to examine the effect of participants' demographics on future intentions. Finally, the current study elaborates the findings using qualitative research, interviewing both sides impacted by the service failures: online shoppers and e-retail managers.FindingsThe findings show that complementing product replacement with monetary compensation is the most effective strategy to improve repurchase intention after a dissatisfaction moment. This effect is indifferent to service criticality and severity. Age influences the participants' repurchase intentions, in which younger people are less tolerant of service failures. In contrast, gender and education level do not provide any differences. To prevent delivery failures, managers participating in this study suggest several best practices regarding systems and infrastructure, people and coordination and collaboration with logistics partners.Research limitations/implicationsThe study mainly examines a limited type of service and service failures. Further studies are encouraged to expand the variables and scenarios, as well as to employ more distinctive methods, to enrich the findings related to recovery strategy in the e-commerce industry.Practical implicationsGiven proper compensation, service failure could create momentum for online retailers to boost customer loyalty. This study suggests that managers design the most effective service recovery to win customers back to the business.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the literature related to a service recovery strategy, particularly within the online shopping context.

Bad Intentions: Customers’ Negative Reactions to Intentional Failures and Mitigating Conditions

Intentional service failures (e.g., overbooking or overcharging) have received little scholarly attention, despite their regular occurrence and immense costs. Using a multi-method approach combining experimental and field data from online reviews, it was found that intentional (vs. unintentional) failures lead to greater negative word of mouth (nWOM) and patronage reduction. This research extends these findings by demonstrating that intentional failures are less harmful when the failure is reversible (vs. irreversible) and occurs at an employee (vs. firm) level. Further, while either psychological (e.g., apology) or monetary compensation is effective in mitigating the consequences of intentional failures at an employee level, a combined service recovery (psychological and monetary) is the best solution when the failure is at a firm level. Drawing on attribution theory, the article unveils the key role of trust (as opposed to justice) as the mechanism to explain the effects of intentionality on customers’ nWOM and patronage reduction.